because a Reverend can't be wrong.
Sometimes… I’m really “in it”.
I’ll pick up a guitar, or a pen and paper, or open my favorite code editor, and things just flow. It’s like magic.
I need to learn how to keep the magic there all the time. Although it doesn’t really seem related, I’m convinced that water and exercise have A LOT to do with it.
After much research, the following information has been determined.
First, a brief explanation of your car’s electrical system is in order.
The battery in your car does very little aside from activate the starter. It is the alternator that actually powers the car while it is running. The battery is still in the loop so that, should the car need MORE than the alternator is producing it can feed from the battery. You can actually start your car, and then remove the battery, and your car, unless it has bad electrical problems, will continue to run with all your electrical components functioning properly (I have actually done this on numerous occasions for various reasons).
The alternator produces or, more correctly, induces electricity by converting some of the mechanical energy produced by your engine due to the combustion of gasoline. The harder your engine has to work, the more gasoline it consumes.
As the various electrical components in your car require electricity or, more correctly, as the resistance is increased the voltage will decrease. The voltage regulator in your car will see this, and tell your alternator to increase power which it does by increasing the current in the electromagnets on the rotor of the alternator which increases the magnetic field, which therefore causes increased induction in the coils of the stator and therefore increases the current output. When your alternator begins generating more current, the voltage levels will return back to normal.
The exact opposite occurs when your car’s electrical system experiences a decrease in resistance.
So, the remaining question is this: Does it require additional engine power to turn the rotor of an alternator when the strength of the magnetic field produced on the rotor increases?
My initial thoughts would be yes. The reason I say this is simply because I know that when two magnets are strong it is more difficult to get them close together (or apart, depending on whether they are repelling or attracting one another) than when they are weak.
Unfortunately, I can’t find a website that outlines this precisely. If any of you can, I would appreciate it.
Am I incorrect in my thought process here?
Since a lot of the electricity produced by the alternators in cars is never used because the battery is fully charged, running additional electrical devices doesn’t actually cause your vehicle to consume additional gas. In this fashion, day-time running lights and/or driving with your headlights on doesn’t actually cause you to consume more gas.
This site seems to think it does.
Update: Nope. It seems my thought process was incorrect. This page lays it out very clearly.
So I walked to work this morning. Only took 12 minutes. I got here at 8:05am. No, I’m not becoming more health conscious or environmentally aware. My truck wouldn’t start this morning.
For the past couple of days I had been thinking something was wrong with the way it started, and this morning confirms that. When it first started acting up, I thought it might be because every morning I start my truck, drive two minutes, stop my truck, go to work. And every afternoon I start my truck, drive two minutes, stop my truck, go home.
But, last night I went out with a bunch of people for a friend’s birthday. It was about a 40 minute drive to get there, and when I left, it took about 5 seconds to start up. Then I drove home for about 20 minutes and parked. That should be enough time to get enough charge on the battery to start again.
The starter is fine. Or, it sounds fine. It clicks like it is supposed to. So, I either need an new alternator, a new battery, or both. How annoying.
Brad: want to jump my truck and then go with me to a battery place this evening so I can get the battery and alternator tested? If I just need a new battery, I’ll have them put it in. If I need a new alternator, I’d like to do it myself, but I don’t know if I have all the right tools. I’ll have to look and see this evening what it’ll take to get it out.
What a pain in the ass.